Montgomery County mental health contract expect to double in next year

By Catherine Dominguez, Staff writer

Published
2:35 pm CDT, Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Just a month after taking over the mental health contract for the county, County Court at Law No. 2 Judge Claudia Laird took the time to warn county commissioners that she will likely request to expand the program for the next contract year.

The ad litem program, Laird explained, provides representation to patients in the community that have serious mental health issues and may be a danger themselves or others.

Laird said the contact year extends February to January, which is different from the county fiscal year from October to September.

After reviewing the contract, Laird said about $9,000 more would be needed to cover the attorneys due to an increase in the number of cases the court is seeing.

According to Laird, the program has seen a 45 percent increase, which is a jump of more than 200 cases. Currently the contract includes three attorneys which was anticipated to handle about 90 cases for the contract period.

But while growth across the county plays a role, Laird said the increase in hospitals is the biggest factor.

“We have a lot more cases because of the hospital infrastructure begin built in Montgomery County,” she told commissioners Tuesday noting several hospitals, including Conroe Regional Medical Center are not only adding infrastructure, they are expanding services as well. “There are a lot of suicide situations.”

While Laird did not ask for additional funding for the rest of the contract year, she said she did expect to request the contract be expanded to include three more attorneys. Each attorney is compensated $20,000 for their participation in the program.

As for the $9,000, Laird said she would be able to cover the cost with what is currently budgeted. While Laird was not able to provide the exact budget for the program, she said it was at least $60,000.

County Judge Craig Doyal and Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack thanked Laird for coming to the court to provide the information before the contract expired.

“It is so appreciated and this court certainly understands the challenges you face handling the mental health court,” Noack said. “Thank you for bringing this to the court’s attention.”